After termination of the Best Western agreement, is a member prohibited from representing that the property was formerly affiliated with Best Western?
Best_Western Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- The license provided hereunder shall terminate immediately upon resignation of Member from the Membership or cancellation or termination of this Agreement. Within fifteen (15) days of resignation, cancellation or termination of the Agreement, the Property and Member shall cease use of and remove from public view all Best Western Identifying Marks (e.g. signs and logo'd items) and transfer to Best Western any domains containing any Best Western Identifying Marks (including, but not limited to, any domain names containing "best," "western," "bw," or any combination thereof). This prohibition includes any representation, directly or indirectly, that the Property was formerly affiliated with Best Western.
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- Furthermore, upon resignation, cancellation or termination, Member shall actively take such steps as may be necessary to cause the cessation of all advertising and distribution of promotional material, to include for the avoidance of doubt and without limitation, online material containing any Best Western Identifying Marks, and shall not use anything consisting of or incorporating any part of any Best Western Identifying Marks or which singularly or together are similar in spelling, sound, appearance or otherwise to any Best Western Identifying Mark. Pursuant to this section F, Member shall also take reasonable steps to notify all third-party advertisers marketing the Property, online or in other media, that the Property is no longer affiliated with Best Western. Reasonable steps shall include, but not be limited to, contacting third-party travel websites (e.g., Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, and Hotwire) to ensure that those third parties cease the advertising and distribution of promotional material containing any Best Western Identifying Marks in connection with the Property. The Member's obligation with respect to correcting all advertising – whether the Member contracted for the advertising or otherwise – is a continuing obligation.
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- For each day that any Best Western Identifying Mark is used in connection with the Property, after fifteen (15) days following resignation, cancellation or termination of this Agreement, Best Western may elect to claim from Member daily damages in an amount equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the average of the Property's room rates per room per day multiplied by the total number of rooms. This amount is payable by Member whether or not Member
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 108–413)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Best Western's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, upon resignation, cancellation, or termination of the agreement, a member is prohibited from representing, directly or indirectly, that the property was formerly affiliated with Best Western. Within 15 days of the termination, the property and member must cease using and remove all Best Western Identifying Marks from public view, including signs and logoed items. They must also transfer any domains containing Best Western Identifying Marks to Best Western. These identifying marks include domain names containing "best," "western," "bw," or any combination thereof.
Furthermore, the member must actively stop all advertising and distribution of promotional material, including online material, that contains any Best Western Identifying Marks. The member cannot use anything that incorporates any part of the Best Western Identifying Marks or anything similar in spelling, sound, or appearance. The member is also required to take reasonable steps to notify all third-party advertisers marketing the property that the property is no longer affiliated with Best Western. This includes contacting third-party travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, and Hotwire to ensure they cease advertising material containing Best Western Identifying Marks.
Best Western may claim daily damages from the member if any Best Western Identifying Mark is used in connection with the property after 15 days following resignation, cancellation, or termination of the agreement. The daily damages amount to 15% of the average of the property's room rates per room per day, multiplied by the total number of rooms. This amount is payable whether or not the member is responsible for the continued use of the identifying marks.